Friday, January 4, 2013

Hey guys, this is AznSensei here reviewing the recent release of the Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes Store Set.

Before I start the review, I would like to thank you to roundheaded for gifting me this set late in the evening as I did not expect such a thing to occur, so thank you very much for the set itself! ^_^

Also, please bear with me on this review as I RARELY play households that involve babies and toddlers, so there is a definite potential that I will not explore all the interactions, or even post some form of enjoyment (if there is at all in this review) for making this review and will miss some aspects to this set.

First off, this set has 28 Build/Buy AND Create-A-Sim content that mainly focuses on toddlers. Included in this 28-item set are 2 brand new premium content (I don't think any of them are The Sims 2 remakes either?) which are the Gift of Speech Baby Monitor and the Dirty No More Changing and Bathing Station. The price of this set is originally 2000 Simpoints, but for an early-bird special until January 17th, 2012, you can get this set for 1675 Simpoints. The cost of all the individual items total to 2500 Simpoints, meaning you are saving 825 Simpoints now, and 500 Simpoints after the early bird special.

While the price may seem steep for 28 furniture and clothing, it "may" seem worth it to those who wanted toddler content for a LONG time. Personally, while I am not much of a seeker for more toddler content, I am happy that many players who love raising babies and toddlers get to experience this type of set after a long time with toddlers not getting enough content. I think the last store content for toddlers was the Baby Swing in November 2011.

Anyways, for the price, 1675 simpoints is still around $17 for a set like this. Personally, I don't think it's "entirely" worth it if you aren't a toddler enthusiast, but for those who don't mind the price, more power to you! If anything, for those who would not mind waiting, I'd definitely recommend waiting to hopefully see this set for 1000-1200 Simpoints, maybe even less (but that won't be for a long time).

Now for the two premium content, one is a long-overdue and heavily requested diaper changing table.

However, there is a twist to it. Not only does it just change your toddler's (including infant btw) diapers, it can also bath them! There are two interactions: Change (Baby Name) and Give (Baby Name) a Bath.

The first interaction will show your toddler/baby censored and the adult sim changing the diaper depicted below:

The second interaction, replaces the padding with a small tub, which for the first time in a long time allows your sim to ACTUALLY bath your baby/toddler! I'm happy with that and that is a small step towards getting rid of those burrito babies.... right?

When it comes to changing the baby/toddler's diaper though, be wary of two different moodlets that will appear: The Diaper Rash Moodlet and the Freshly Powdered Moodlet. I do believe the freshly powdered moodlet will appear if you change your baby's diaper with decent bladder level and high hygiene (maybe just the bladder) and the Diaper rash will appear if your baby/toddler has a low bladder level. Just remember that there are chances that your sim can fail and be covered in powder, or your baby/toddler will also pee on the ground after getting changed, which can vary depending on how potty-trained they are.

As for the design of the table, it comes with 3 pre-designed recolors of it. Below are the pictures with the original 3 on the left, and the final showcasing the color channels of recoloring. I used a metal design on the recolor.

The second premium content is the Baby Monitor, which is the an item that can ONLY be used by toddlers (maybe infants) in order to initiate an interaction.

The Interactions are:

- Play With Me

- Walk With Me

- Talk With Me

- Feed Me

- Rock With Me (Only if a Rocking Chair exists)

- Change Me (If the bladder need is low)

- Turn Off/Turn On

With that in mind, it is very essential that you place at least 1 monitor in each of the main rooms of the household: Bedrooms, Living Room, Kitchen, Dining Room, etc. That way you can monitor your baby the best you can. Below are how I placed the monitor using one of EA's premade homes in Sunset Valley:

Note: I am still testing the baby monitor, especially the distance between it and the toddler in order to function. Most likely it must be within a certain radius in order for the household to react to the crying child.

Included are three pre-set recolors of the object, and also a picture of what the channels will showcase what gets recolored:

If there are two toddlers at least, if one of them uses the Play with me interaction, the other will come to his/her aid and play "Patty Cake" (Which supposedly is just Peek-A-Boo) with the toddler in need. The toddler can also request for knowledge from the parent or to be fed also.

Personally, I find this baby monitor useful to take care of the child, especially when you are away from your home, or have a babysitter, who may autonomously do something else around the household instead of taking care of the baby *whistles*

That way while your sims are at their jobs or events, the baby/toddler will initiate the interactions, making it easy for them to be taken care of. Personally, I feel like i may use this if I happen to play with toddlers more. Unfortunately, there are no new moodlets that come with this particular premium content item, so it is somewhat of a letdown and should "hopefully" be considered for a lower price, I'd say around 250-300 Simpoints, rather than 500 Simpoints.

Other than the premium content objects, below are the Build/Buy and CAS content that comes with this set also. Please take note, that there are some "small bugs" with some of the content, which will be addressed individually in the pictures below.

Some of the objects will have multiple stencils. The "repeat" objects are shown as the left side being the original objects, and the last one/right side showcasing the recoloring channels.

Build/Buy

For the Build/Buy Section, there is a definite small amount of options in terms of furniture and decor. While this set fits very well with the Ultra Lounge and Mid-Century Fantasy themes, there are some drawbacks to this particular selection of content.

First off, the Lullaby Chair does not have a "blank" pillow stencil and the pillows cannot be recolored as depicted in the two recolors on the right:

Second, the Toy Box ONLY has two channels, which I think is an oversight and hopefully will be fixed as the entire box itself has the potential to be recolorable. The two channels are the colors of the lid, and also the carvings on the box itself:

Third, while I love the new stencils and size of the rugs, I do feel like the recolor options should definitely increase and it seems so limited in what we can recolor. There is ONLY ONE recoloring channel for these rugs, so I am slightly disappointed (not raging angry) that there isn't much more of a recoloring option for these rugs. The left side are the 4 original stencils, and the right side are the 4 recolors.

Finally, I came across an interesting bug with the bunk beds. When using the catalog and clicking the bunk bed for the "first" time and placing it when entering build mode, you will get the "redwood" color design on the left. When clicking it again, you get the typical brown-like wood color in the center. The far right color is the recolor option, which two sets of "4 channels" totalling 8 channels. While it's not a "gamebreaking" bug, I thought I'd point this out.

Next up is the CAS options for toddlers.

Create-A-Sim

Male Toddler:

Female Toddler:

What's interesting about the Create-A-Sim options is that most of the clothing is categorized for both boys and girls, meaning you will see one wear boys clothing and vice-versa. No clue if it was intentional, but it is interesting. 0.0

Anyways, I'm not too thrilled about the clothing options for these toddlers, but they are new and are a nice addition to anyone who wanted new clothing for their toddlers.

Overall Review

Price: 7/10 - Personally, the price is still pretty steep for content for just toddlers. Overall, I think the original price "could" potentially have been 1500 Simpoints, and the early bird being around 1100-1200 Simpoints, but since overall all the individual items cost 2500 Simpoints, it's okay. The price of the Premium Content is questionable and I do have mixed feelings about the baby monitor and the price. Anyways, again thank you roundheaded for gifting me this set and I hope you didn't feel you wasted it on me.

Theme: 5/10 - While I do enjoy the Mid-Century Fantasy theme and the Ultra Lounge theme, I feel like this particular theme is getting repetitive and I hope EA does something "crafty" and nifty with future toddler sets to come. I could imagine a Freezer Bunny themed toddler set and all, and maybe even more "cartoon"-like (not branded) furniture and decor for our toddlers in the future. This set will fit very well with both of the themes I mentioned above and I think there is a potential for creativity in this, but this set can be recolored to an extent to fit in multiple themes.

Premium Content: 6/10 - I don't normally play much into the infant/toddler life state, so I'm still questioning whether I will continue playing those two states. However, I do know that these two premium content items defnitely improved the toddler life state to make it more enjoyable (or overbearing) to take care of the infant/toddler. I do wish there was more moodlets with the baby monitor and maybe more interactions in both objects, but I am glad they are both out. The diaper changing station was long overdue and The Sims 2 had it since the beginning, and while I do agree that we should see one in the base game in an update in the future, I feel like this one particular is an overhaul and does something more than the diaper changing station in TS2. Unfortunately, it's already out in the store, so some people are happy, and some aren't. I personally don't care as long as it's something new and for toddlers rather than Young Adult/Adult content released from the Store.

Build/Buy Design: 7/10 - I feel like they could have done more with the build/buy objects and more decor rather than furniture in this set overall. I also am disappointed with the design flaws that do come with this set, which I hope will be addressed by the Store Team this coming week and hopefully in the future. Other than that, it's like the theme of Mid-Century and Ultra Lounge, but can potentially be used in other sets. My personal favorite is the rug itself as it clearly has multiple stencils, and definitely adorable to boot.

CAS Design: 4/10 - Personally, I find the outfits cute and everything, but something just tells me that we have seen these outfits repeatedly, whether in CC or in the Store. I don't know if this really shows how limited toddler clothing is in terms of design, but I definitely hope to see what the Store Team comes up with next in the future. I also do wish there was more toddler hairstyles included in this set too.

Overall: 5.8/10 - This set isn't my personal favorite and very happy to see new toddler options for many simmers. This set was long overdue and much needed. Again, I don't play the toddler/infant life states so this set doesn't fully "grab" my attention, but as I have it now, I do hope to utilize it in case of making a family. Again, I have no hate towards this set and give props to those who may give this a higher rating.